World Music CD Reviews Europe

MFFM mainstay Oleg Gitarkin is a veteran of the St. Petersburg punk and psychobilly scenes, but after losing band members to a fatal stabbing and a monastery, he decided his energies were best directed to the studio rather than live work. Now a duo, Gitarkin and Oleg Kostrow have produced on Triangle, Dot & Devil a kind of sample-based parody of easy listening. It's a cartoonish sound, and could soundtrack animations beautifully. The problem is that these eclectic, post-modern cut-ups lack the authentic nostalgic charm (and gentle humor) of the real thing, and though it all starts amiably enough, it's difficult to sustain a grin across a whole CD. “Funny Man under Anaesthesia” exhibits Dr. Demento level silliness, but the jumble of Batman samples, theremin noises, and nursery melodies set to B-52s instrumentation are probably just a bit too noisy to appeal to even the most irony-drenched, kitsch-addicted students.